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Vol. 49 No. 2, 2010
The Larger Mammal Fauna of Hong Kong: Species Survival in a
Highly Degraded Landscape
Kurtis
Jai-Chyi Pei1, Yu-Ching Lai2,*, Richard T. Corlett3,
and Kai-Yuen Suen4
1Institute
of Wildlife Conservation, National Pingtung University of Science and
Technology, Neipu, Pingtung 912, Taiwan E-mail:kcjpei@mail.npust.edu.tw
2Department of Environmental and Hazards-Resistant
Design, Huafan University, Shihting, Taipei 223, Taiwan
3Department of Biological Sciences, National
University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, 117543, Singapore
E-mail:corlett@nus.edu.sg
4Wildlife Conservation Foundation, Hong Kong. Rm.
10-12, 10 Fl., Honour Industrial Centre, 6 Sun Yip Street, Chai Wan,
Hong Kong, China. E-mail:klhart@netvigator.com
Kurtis
Jai-Chyi Pei, Yu-Ching Lai, Richard T. Corlett, and Kai-Yuen Suen (2010)
We spent 3 yr (2000-2003) surveying the status of larger mammals (>
0.5 kg) in the highly fragmented and degraded landscape of Hong Kong
using 373 camera-trap sites distributed in 43 terrestrial wildlife
habitat patches. In total, 20 mammal species were recorded
including 15 larger mammals. The Malayan porcupine (Hystrix brachyura) and red muntjac (Muntiacus muntjak) were apparently
the most abundant species, while the crab-eating mongoose (Herpestes urva), Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla), small Indian
mongoose (Herpestes javanicus),
and yellow-bellied weasel (Mustela
kathiah) were the least abundant. The red muntjac, small
Indian civet (Viverricula indica),
and Malayan porcupine had the widest distributions, while the Chinese
pangolin, small Indian mongoose, and yellow-bellied weasel were most
restricted. Many species were absent from Lantau I., despite its
relatively large size (144 km2) and lower current human
disturbance, suggesting past extirpations. The key management
need for larger mammals in Hong Kong is the protection and enhancement
of habitat links between adjacent protected areas, especially the
cross-border corridor between the National Forest Park in Shenzhen,
Guangdong Province and the Country Park system in Hong Kong.
Key words: Camera traps, Conservation,
Distribution patterns, South China.
*Correspondence: Tel: 882-2-26632102 ext. 4567. Fax:
886-2-26639003. E-mail:yuching@cc.huafan.hfu.edu.tw
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